Korean War remains returned by North Korea could take years to identify, Pentagon says

88-year-old Korean War Veteran Herbert Schreiner attended the ceremony in Hawaii when Korean War remains were returned on Wednesday. He said he became emotional as he remembered the return of his brother, Allen, who died in the Korean War. (Aug. 2)
AP

Vice President Mike Pence, Commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Adm. Phil Davidson, center, and Rear Adm. Jon Kreitz, deputy director of the POW/MIA Accounting Agency, watch as military members carry transfer cases of the remains believed to be of American service members who fell in the Korean War.(Photo: Susan Walsh, AP)

WASHINGTON – It will likely take months or years to identify the remains of what are believed to be fallen U.S. troops in 55 boxes recently turned over by North Korea, Pentagon officials said Thursday.

The initial inspection of the remains could not determine the how many individuals remains were in the boxes, said John Byrd, chief scientist for the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. Remains from one person could be in different boxes.

"It's too early to tell," he said.

Many of the remains, Byrd said, are consistent with those of American troops previously returned by the North Koreans.

The boxes held artifacts, including one identification tag, and the family of that missing service member has been notified, Byrd said.

The return of the remains follows talks between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un. Trump also thanked Kim Thursday for his "kind action" in returning the remains.

Many of the remains came from a village one east side of the Chosin Reservoir, site of the brutal battle in the fall of 1950, where Army soldiers primarily fought.

The agency is responsible for identifying the remains and has begun doing so, Byrd said. DNA testing will be done immediately and checked against a database of family members. Finding a match could take months or years.

Dental records essential

Dental records can expedite the process, said Kelly McKeague, the agency director.

"That's what we call the holy grail," McKeague said.

The agency, located at at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, houses the world's largest skeletal identification laboratory staffed by more than 30 anthropologists, archaeologists and forensic dentists, according to the Pentagon.

Nearly 7,700 U.S. troops remain missing from the Korean War. From 1950 to 1953, 36,940 Americans were killed and another 92,134 were wounded.

More than 72,000 troops remain missing from World War II, according to the agency. In all, the bodies of more than 82,000 Americans have yet to be found since that conflict. About half of them were lost at sea when their ships sank or their aircraft crashed.

In Korea, troops often buried their dead comrades on the spot. Others died in prison camps. Periodically, the hermitic government of North Korea has returned remains of U.S. troops. From 1990 to 1994, the North Koreans turned over 208 boxes of remains, which could contain as many as 400 different individuals.

Work continued to bring fallen troops home from 1996 until 2005 with 220 sets of remains recovered and still being identified. Recovery work was suspended in 2005 due to security concerns.